Month: February 2023

The 1978 Formula 1 World Championship-winning Lotus Type 79 famously driven by Mario Andretti is coming up for auction later this year.

Announced by auction house Bonhams yesterday at the Retromobile show in Paris, it’s one of the most important and iconic F1 cars from the period.

Full name John Player Special Lotus-Cosworth Type 79, it has the nickname ‘black beauty’ owing to its streamlined shape and black and gold John Player Special sponsor livery.

The Type 79 was introduced to Formula 1 in the 1978 season, with the cars winning six of the 11 Grand Prix races, and having five podium places.

This historic machine, chassis 79/4, was driven by Mario Andretti in the famous Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort and would go on to claim the 1978 Formula 1 Driver’s world title. Andretti is only the second American to have ever won a championship title, after Phil Hill who won with Ferrari in 1961. However, with Hill’s victory, the car was scrapped, meaning this Lotus is the only remaining F1 championship-winning car to be driven by an American.

Not set to go under the hammer until November at Bonhams’ new sale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the model has an estimate of $6,5-9.5m (£5.27-7.71m).

Mark Osborne, global director of motorsport at Bonhams Collector Cars, said: “This car, 79/4 or JPS22 as the sponsors preferred ticks every conceivable box. From its ‘Superstar’ driver and crown-clinching Grand Prix success to its livery and pivotal trend-setting innovation, Mario’s Championship winner from 1978 stands not only as one of the most significant cars of the 3-litre F1 era, but of Formula 1 itself.”

The average price paid for motor insurance jumped by 8% in the last three months of 2022, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The typical premium paid for private motor insurance was £470, up by 8% on the previous quarter.

The average premium was also 7% higher compared with the final quarter of 2021.

Rising costs have added to upward pressures on insurance policies.

The ABI said delays in finding parts, the increased cost of paint and the jump in energy prices are among the factors adding to vehicle repair costs.

Courtesy car costs have increased, as have second hand car prices, the trade body said.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced new rules on the pricing of motor and home insurance from January 2022.

The rules ensure that the price paid by renewing customers for motor and home insurance is no greater than the price charged to an equivalent new customer for the equivalent policy bought through the same distribution channel, such as via an insurer, broker or price comparison website.

The price of cover continues to reflect a range of factors, including the cost of settling claims.

The ABI said the average price paid for a new policy during the fourth quarter of 2022 rose by 7% (£37) compared with the previous quarter to £531 – a record high.

The average price paid on renewal of an existing motor policy increased by 8% (£31) to £428.

Taking 2022 as a whole, the average price paid to renew an existing policy fell by 7% on the previous year to £392, while the average price paid for new cover rose by 11% to £500.

The changes during the year in part reflected the introduction of the pricing rule changes, the ABI said.

Jonathan Fong, senior policy adviser, general insurance, at the ABI, said: “Every motorist wants the best insurance deal, especially when coping with cost-of-living pressures, and insurers continue to do all they can to keep motor insurance as competitively priced as possible.

“Yet, like many other sectors, insurers continue to face higher costs, such as more expensive raw materials, which are becoming increasingly challenging to absorb.

“Anyone concerned about being able to continue paying their motor insurance premium should speak to their insurer about any alternative payment options that may be available.”

Up to one in 10 drivers risk being fined for ignoring lane closed signs on motorways, new figures suggest.

National Highways said the proportion of drivers who comply with the red X signs is “more than 90%”, indicating nearly 10% do not.

Since September 2022, all police forces have been able to use enforcement cameras to prosecute motorists who illegally pass under a red X or enter a lane beyond one.

This can result in a fine of up to £100 and three penalty points, or more severe penalties and a court appearance in some cases.

Surrey Police was one of the first forces to prosecute offenders caught by cameras in November 2019.

New figures show it has issued 9,427 Notices of Intended Prosecution since then.

Some 4,926 recipients completed a safety awareness course, with others selecting alternative options such as paying a fixed penalty or having the matter heard at court.

The roads policing unit covering Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire said nearly 300 vehicles were seen contravening a red X displayed on the M25 near Junction 20 on a single day in December 2018 while emergency roadworks were carried out following a crash.

One of the offending drivers contested the matter at court, where he was ordered to pay a fine and costs amounting to almost £1,000.

He also received three penalty points.

Adherence to red X signs is critical to smart motorway safety.

National Highways’ staff switch on the closed lane signs when stopped vehicles are detected in live lanes to prevent them being hit from behind and to help and protect the emergency services.

Chief Constable Jo Shiner, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing, said: “Red X signals are in place on the motorway for your safety and the safety of others.

“Sadly, there are too many instances where motorists fail to comply with a red X signal and put others in incredible danger by driving in a closed lane.

“This is unacceptable and drivers who do so need to understand they face prosecution.”

National Highways traffic officer Dave Harford said: “We don’t take the decision to close lanes lightly, but when we do, drivers must obey the closure.

“A red X signal is there for the safety of everyone on the road – including people in difficulty, traffic officers, recovery and emergency services helping them, and all other road users besides.”

AA president Edmund King said: “As more than a third (38%) of breakdowns on smart motorways happen in live lanes, it is vital that all drivers avoid lanes with a red X as soon as possible, as you never know what danger may lie ahead.”

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams described the proportion of drivers using closed lanes as “very worrying”.

He said: “For some time we’ve been concerned that red Xs displayed on signs at the side of the road aren’t nearly as clear as those positioned on gantries directly above each lane.

“We fear this may be a factor in some of the non-compliance.”

A British firm has secured £6.6m of funding to get new hydrogen-powered and autonomous HGV prototypes on the road.

As part of the government-funded Centre for Connected Autonomous Vehicles, Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS) is part of a consortium with automated driving firm Fusion Processing and Asda.

The £6.6m of funding makes up a £12m venture that will develop self-driving HGVs in the hope it will ‘speed up the adoption of zero-emission vehicles by the freight sector’. Two prototype vehicles capable of ‘hands-off’ Level 4 autonomous driving will be developed, with the first being a normal HGV tested on the road in self-driving operation.

A second prototype will then have the cab removed and replaced by an ‘aerodynamic fairing’. This truck will be tested away from public roads and won’t require a driver to be onboard at all, but rather away in a ‘control hub’ operating the vehicle.

HVS says it points towards an ‘optimised future logistics system’, where HGVs might not need a driver to be onboard when the vehicle is going on a ‘hub-to-hub route’, and says it offers a ‘next-generation solution’ to today’s issues with driver shortages. It would also allow the vehicles to drive at less busy times on the roads, reducing time spent in congestion.

HVS chief executive Jawad Khursheed said: “A transport revolution is taking place in the UK and HVS, together with the consortium, is at the forefront of the innovation.

“We are engineering the world’s first autonomous hydrogen-electric powered HGV to demonstrate hub-to-hub logistics to a leading retailer, Asda, to elevate public perception, showcasing the potential autonomy can deliver thanks to increased safety and fuel savings, and develop new business models.”

Nissan has revealed a modified version of its Ariya EV that will be used on a 17,000-mile expedition from the North Pole to the South Pole.

Being undertaken to ‘showcase the capability of EVs and highlight positive action against the climate crisis’, the one-off Ariya has been designed with the help of specialists Arctic Trucks.

Nissan says modifications have been ‘intentionally minimal’, with the Ariya’s electric powertrain being unaltered. The most major changes are a revised suspension setup and huge 39-inch tyres.

Other changes made to the Ariya include widened arches to accommodate the huge wheels, as well as a roof panel that allows a drone to be flown from and land on. A specially-integrated coffee machine is also fitted for an on-demand caffeine fix.

Explorers Chris and Julie Ramsey will be undertaking the challenge, and hope to be the first to drive from the North Pole to the South Pole in an electric car if successful.

Chris Ramsey, EV expedition leader, said: “One of the things that underpins all the adventures we do is that we take a standard production EV and aim to make minimal changes to clearly demonstrate its real, everyday capabilities, regardless of where you are driving it. Our Nissan Ariya is no different as the vehicle’s drivetrain and battery has remained factory standard, demonstrating just how capable and versatile the production Ariya is.

“We’ve modified the suspension and widened the wheel arches so we can benefit from the stable platform and support of the 39-inch BF Goodrich tyres. I’m incredibly excited to get behind the wheel of what was already a brilliant vehicle, but now feels equipped to take on the ends of the earth in style.”

The Pole-to-Pole expedition has been four years in the making, with the challenge getting underway in March.

A new deadline has been set for meeting smart motorway safety targets.

National Highways chief executive Nick Harris told MPs that the Government-owned company is aiming to meet “very challenging” performance specifications for stopped vehicle detection (SVD) technology by July.

SVD uses radars to detect vehicles stopped on all-lane running (ALR) smart motorways, which do not have a hard shoulder.

Retrofitting of the system to every ALR smart motorway was completed as part of a series of safety measures last year, but a report by the Office of Rail and Road in December revealed it was “not working as well as it should”.

The average time it was taking to detect stopped vehicles in four out of five regions was longer than the target of 20 seconds, ranging from 43-65 seconds.

The amount of false alerts was also higher than expected, increasing the workload for operators receiving the notifications.

Giving evidence about SVD to the Transport Select Committee, Mr Harris said: “It is working and it is adding significantly to the tools that we have available to further improve road safety.

“I have a very, very closely-managed programme going on at the moment to ensure that the systems that we’ve already implemented – and we’re ongoing with commissioning new ones – will achieve the performance specification later this year.

“I think we’ve set July as the target for that.

“But this is the largest implementation of this technology in the world.

“We’re the first to be doing this. It’s an important addition to road safety and we’re very committed to getting it to that standard, but it is adding significantly to road safety at the moment.”

Around 10% of England’s motorway network is made up of smart motorways.

They involve various methods to manage the flow of traffic, such as converting the hard shoulder into a live running lane and variable speed limits.

ALR smart motorways boost capacity at a lower cost than widening roads.

There have been long-standing safety fears following fatal incidents in which vehicles stopped in live lanes were hit from behind, but National Highways insists the roads are safer than conventional motorways.

The Department for Transport halted the development of new ALR smart motorways in January 2022 until five years of safety data has been collected for schemes introduced before 2020.

A project developing what the Government believes will be the world’s first full-size self-driving bus service will test if smaller vehicles can operate without a staff member on board.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) said the Edinburgh scheme will be expanded after becoming one of seven autonomous passenger and freight vehicle programmes to win a share of £81 million in combined Government and industry funding.

Five self-driving single-decker buses will begin carrying members of the public between Ferrytoll park and ride in Fife and the Edinburgh Park train and tram interchange via the Forth Road Bridge from the spring.

These will be captained services, meaning a member of staff will be on the vehicle to help passengers with boarding, buying tickets and queries.

Beis said the new funding will enable the CAVForth II project to test deployments with smaller vehicles which “could operate with no staff on board”.

Bus operator Stagecoach said the 14-mile route launching in spring will be extended to Dunfermline city centre.

That will take the total distance to nearly 20 miles and feature more complex autonomous driving scenarios with busy A and B roads and city centre traffic.

Hub2Hub, another scheme to get funding, is developing self-driving hydrogen-powered lorries in partnership with supermarket Asda.

Testing of the vehicles, which would be controlled by a remote driver, is due to begin next year.

Other self-driving vehicle projects awarded funding are based in Belfast, Cambridge and across Solihull and Coventry, while there are two in Sunderland.

All the schemes will be expected to demonstrate they are capable of sustainable commercial services by 2025.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said: “In just a few years’ time, the business of self-driving vehicles could add tens of billions to our economy and create tens of thousands of jobs across the UK.

“This is a massive opportunity to drive forward our priority to grow the economy, which we are determined to seize.

“The support we are providing today will help our transport and technology pioneers steal a march on the global competition by turning their bright ideas into market-ready products sooner than anyone else.”

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Self-driving vehicles including buses will positively transform people’s everyday lives – making it easier to get around, access vital services and improve regional connectivity.

“We’re supporting and investing in the safe rollout of this incredible technology to help maximise its full potential while also creating skilled jobs and boosting growth in this important sector.”

The Government says it is committed to introducing legislation that will enable the safe use of self-driving vehicles on UK roads.

Coffee, eggshells and rice could be used as materials for car interiors of the future, a new study has discovered.

Design and engineering consultancy Callum has identified a variety of ‘viable materials’ that could be used in a car’s cabin to make it more sustainable. Having consulted with green-tech company Ottan, Callum was able to find materials which could replace plastics but still keep up with the requirements of a fully-functioning car.

Eggshells were mixed with resin to create a smooth material for areas such as the window switch surrounds, while the ‘green’ credentials of this feature were boosted by mixing it with walnut shells, increasing its recycled content to 84 per cent from 78 per cent.

Out-of-date lentils or rice could be turned into a translucent material for illuminated sections like lamp covers or lit-up switches, and coffee pulp could be used to replace traditional plastics used for decorative areas.

Ian Callum, Callum co-founder and design director, said: “More of our customers are starting to think about sustainable projects and put an emphasis on the circular economy. With others, we might nudge them down that path, highlighting the business benefits of making a more sustainable choice.”

Plus, purple carrot pulp could be used to create a ‘mulberry-like’ colour for certain trim sections, while tree leaves can be recycled into a smooth surface to be used as an alternative to traditional wood finishes.

Many of the textiles used within Callum’s study came from ‘preloved’ materials that would otherwise head to landfill, while seat centres were made from Camira, which is a fabric made from marine plastic waste. The study’s Porsche 911 test vehicle also incorporated Feline on the seat bolsters, which is a soft material made from PET bottles.